5 Important Local SEO Tips for Small Businesses

5 Important Local SEO Tips for Small Businesses

Did you spend a lot of time and money on your website, only to receive no traffic?

It might not be that you have a bad site. It’s likely because you haven’t put in the work to handle search engine optimization for your local website.

If you aren’t ranking as high as you want on Google, you can use a few SEO strategies to improve your rankings. Keep reading to learn five local SEO tips that will help.

1. Get in Business Directories

Many people think of Google My Business when they think of local search. While it is one of the best directories to get into, it isn’t the only one.

Other local business directories like Yelp still rank on search engines. If you haven’t claimed your directory pages, there’s no way you can take advantage of them on Google. Get in as many popular business directories as you can to maximize your chance of ranking those pages.

2. Focus on Local Keywords

It’s hard enough to compete on highly-searched keywords on Google these days. If you’re a small local business, the chances are good that you don’t have the budget to play with the big players on Google. Luckily, you can still attain rankings by using location modifiers on keyword terms.

Look at the search volume for your keyword phrases with your location appended to the term. These terms might not get the same search volume as general keyword phrases, but there will be much less competition and be easier to rank for.

3. Focus on Mobile

The amount of mobile traffic is higher than ever, and local searches are no different. Believe it or not, 82% of mobile searches are local searches.

That’s why you need to optimize your website for these users. Ensure your site has a great mobile experience that shows people that your business has what they’re looking for. In most cases, you can do this with a responsive design.

4. Make Citations Consistent

A business citation — your name, address, and phone number — is a significant ranking factor for local searches. It’s what you put on all your business directory pages and other websites that display local businesses.

Google wants to see all your citations match up on local websites. If your citation isn’t exactly the same across the internet, it has the chance of hurting your rankings. Even a stray comma can throw Google off.

5. Optimize Your Headlines

It isn’t enough to create content and rank it high on Google. Searchers need to know that your page provides the answers they’re looking for. You do this with your page headline.

Test your headlines to find which version leads to the most clicks on Google. Of course, copyrighting isn’t a skill that many business owners have. Get in touch with a local SEO company for help making your headlines stand out.

Use These Local SEO Tips for Success

The Google search results are a competitive place, so you can’t expect to get rankings by sitting on your hands and doing nothing. You’ll need to put in some work if you want to take advantage of the benefits of SEO. The above local SEO tips will help get you there.

Do you want to learn more digital marketing tips? Check out our blog to find more great advice.

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